


Out

by mysupernaturalobsessions



Series: Divergent (A Destiel AU) [4]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Divergent Fusion, Destiel - Freeform, Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-31
Updated: 2016-01-31
Packaged: 2018-05-17 11:43:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5867980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysupernaturalobsessions/pseuds/mysupernaturalobsessions





	Out

As promised, the second week of training brought weapons and Cas felt even more out of his element. The groups alternated between more hand-to-hand combat and learning how to wield knives, shoot guns and arrows, and throw spears. 

The bow and arrows were tricky and they left blisters on his hands. At first the others tried to give him tips, but soon it was apparent that Cas was hopeless. 

“You know,” Balth said. “Statistically, you should have hit the target at least once by now, just by accident.”

Cas rolled his eyes and set another arrow against his bow. “Thanks for that wonderful tidbit of knowledge.”

“Anytime.”

Castiel was only slightly better at the guns. As he got used to the initial shock of the kickback, he improved rapidly. He was a little sad they only spent one day on that so far. He liked the feel of the metal in his hand. The strength behind guns wasn’t from muscle, but from sturdiness and Cas may have been small but he wasn’t fragile. 

He held his own with the knives as well. The others were having trouble, so he seemed advanced in comparison. Only Uriel and some of the Dauntless born exceeded his skill. He stopped throwing to watch Dorothy as she missed the board by inches yet again. She sighed softly in frustration. Cas turned to her, just as Zach came up behind her. Cas’s eyes went wide.

“You missed,” Zachariah announced needlessly. “Again.”

“Sorry,” Dorothy stuttered.

“Go pick it up.”

She glanced at the knife, where other people’s knives were clattering around it. “While…while they’re all throwing?”

“Are you scared?” he sneered. He waited a beat. “Okay, everybody stop. Dorothy, stand in front of that target. Dean is going to throw these five knives and if you as much as flinch, you’re out. Got it?”

Dorothy nodded once, her face white. She squared her shoulders. She watched Zachariah with wide eyes as he passed one of the knives to Dean, whose face was passive. 

He pulled his arm back.

“Wait!” Cas called. Everyone turned to stare at him. He met Zach’s eyes across the room. “Anyone can just stand there. It doesn’t prove anything.”

“Well, then you won’t mind taking her place, will you?” 

Cas hesitated, and then came forward. Dorothy all but ran back to the safety of the sidelines. Cas gulped and turned to face everyone. Dean stared at him, eyes blank. He raised his arm again. Cas heard the whoosh as the knife flew a few inches beside his head. 

The next landed close to his left side. 

“You can do better than that, Dean,” Zach said.

“You want me to give him a trim?”

“Maybe just a little of the top.” 

Dean threw the knife higher, just above Cas’s hair. The last two followed quickly – one above his shoulder, in the concave of his neck, and the other at his right ear, grazing his skin. He reached up to touch the blood.

Zach dismissed everyone for the day after that. Cas scurried forward, up beside Dean.

“You cut me,” he said.

“Do you think Zach was going to let you walk out of here without a scratch? I went easy on you.”

“Am I supposed to thank you?” Cas whispered heatedly. He shook his head and walked away quickly. He met up with the others in the dormitory. They were all waiting for him and Cas felt a little uncomfortable under their scrutiny. 

“Thanks for doing that, Cas,” Dorothy said quietly. 

He smiled awkwardly. 

“Yeah, that was cool, man,” Balth said.

“But Zach’s gonna have your ass, bro,” a Dauntless-born named Gabriel called across the room. 

Cas wasn’t as worried about it as he should have been. The week progressed with no more incidents. Dean gave Cas tips throughout the training sessions and he was actually feeling more confident about himself. At least his weaponry skill would help his score even if his hand-to-hand was still lacking – and it really was. 

 

Cas could barely eat the morning of the fights. He went to the gym early as usual, but he was too preoccupied to do much.

Dean came in a few minutes for the rest. He found Cas standing beside a punching back, staring at it with a furrowed brow. 

“Are you trying to reason with it?”

Cas jumped, startled. 

Dean gave him a sympathetic pat on the back and went to set up for the day. The rest of the initiates began trailing in not too long after. When Zach sauntered into the room, they all gathered together by the mats. 

“Listen up!” Zach called. “Up first, we’ll have Uriel…and the stiff.”

Cas felt his blood run cold. Without thinking, his panicked eyes immediately snapped up to Dean. The trainer frowned. He met Cas at the side of the mat and grabbed his arm, pulling him back a step to whisper in his ear. 

“Remember what I told you,” Dean said. “Strike fast and strike hard. Get the upper hand.”

Cas nodded numbly. Uriel was already waiting for him in the center of the mat. Cas raised his shaking arms and Uriel smirked. Just as Dean had taught him, Cas punched first, aiming for his opponent’s throat. He felt the impact, but the force wasn’t enough. Uriel growled low in his throat and countered with a punch that immediately brought Cas to his knees. He sputtered and stood up, his head spinning. His next punch flew through the air. He had missed completely. 

Uriel hit him in the stomach, then in the side. He pushed Cas down and waited. Cas was ashamed at the relief he felt for the moment of mercy. 

Then Zach was screaming. He could only vaguely hear it through the haze in his head. “Get up! Finish this!”

Cas opened his eyes to the sight of Dean’s retreating back as the trainer walked away from the fight. Cas let out a groan. Uriel kicked him, once, hard and Cas’s view faded to black. 

He woke up in the infirmary with a pounding headache and achy bones. Charlie and Balth were standing by his bedside. 

“Hey,” they said quietly. 

Cas saw through the window behind them that it was already dark, already night time. He sat up, frantic.

“What was my score?”

Charlie shook her head slowly. “Zach says you’re out.”

“What? No.”

“Sorry, mate,” Balth said. Charlie squeezed his hand. 

His friends turned to go. He only waited a moment after they had left the infirmary to decide that he’d be damned if he was going to be left behind. He had two more weeks of training – two more weeks before the final scores. And he wasn’t dead yet. 

Cas pushed himself up of the bed and hurried outside. Up ahead at the train platform, he could see the group of initiates jumping on. He started running. Every muscle in his body protested the movement, but he kept running. He was nearly there. The car remained just out of reach. 

He saw Dean there on the last cart. Their eyes met and for a moment Cas thought Dean was going to let him fall behind. Dean leaned forward, reaching out with one hand. Cas grasped it eagerly and Dean pulled him up. 

Cas stood there, panting for a moment. 

“What are you doing here?” Zach said. Cas hadn’t even noticed him. 

“I’m coming with you.” Cas spoke the words to Dean, but he saw Zach turn away out of the corner of his eye. 

“I’m glad you caught up,” Dean said, his voice low. He kept glancing back and away. 

Cas didn’t acknowledge it. “You left. The fight I mean.” 

“It wasn’t something I wanted to see.”

Dean glanced up and met his eyes finally. Cas was watching him already, his gaze firm and unwavering. Neither of them spoke after that. The train rumbled along beneath them.


End file.
